Sewer-flushing device



March 5, 1929. L. F. KATC NA 1,704,431

SEWER FLUSHIfiG DEVICE I Filed Nov. 5, 1927 Patented Mar. 5, 1929,

LOUIS I". KATONA, 01 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA;

SEWER-FLUSHING DEVICE.

Application filed November 5, 1927. Serial No. 231,380.

This invention relates to an improved type of sewer flushing device and is particularly directed to that general class of device which automatically functions to periodically effect aflushing of the sewer.

A device of this general character comprises a flushing well having a valved outlet communicating with the sewer conduit to be flushed, 'said valve being arranged to be automatically opened by a tripping mechanism controlled by a predetermined head of water which is permitted to flow into the well at a predetermined rate. The water in the well, when it reaches a predetermined level flows into a tripping pan or bucket,

which when it receives a suflicient quantity of water to overbalance the weight of the valve, serves to open said valve to allow the main body of water to flow into the sewer conduit, thereby flushing the sewer.

In one type of device heretofore employed for this purpose, the valve entirely submerged in the body of fluid in the well and consequently is forcefully held closed by the weight of the fluid above the valve, and for this reason the tripping pan or bucket must be of considerable size in order to hold a volume of fluid sufficient to overcome the pressure of the fluid head upon the valve as well as the weight of the valve itself. As soon as an over-balance is effected the valve opens and it would be supposed that with the opening of the valve the pressure of the fluid head upon the valve would be counterbalanced by a like pressure below the valve and the mechanism would be easily retained in open position by the bucket, but, the action of the large volume of fluid rushing through the valve opening will produce a suction tending to draw the valve member down upon its seat, provisions must be made to counteractsuch suction influences. In some instances this is in a measure acczgnnplished by arranging the bucket so that the fluid discharged from the well strikes the top cover plate of the bucket so as to hold the valve open until the main body of water is discharged. By this construction it is obvious that it is not only necessary to have a bucket which will hold enough fluid to over-balance the weight of the heavy valve, but said bucket must also be of sufficient capacity to overcome the weight of the head of fluid above said valve. This has been found disadvantageous inasmuch as the space in the well is limited, and the cost of a large bucket, which necessarily must be made of relatively expensive non-corrosive material, is prohibitive.

In other typesof devices it has been pro posed to overcome these disadvantages by providing the valve with a hollow sleeve which is closed at its lower end and which extends upwardly to a point above the maximum level of the timid, in the well so asto relieve the valve ofthe fluid headpressure and thus enable the use of a smaller bucket. However, while this expedient does relieve the valve of the fluid head pressure, it presents another very serious difficulty in that it provides a valve of constant weight, that is, as the fluid head pressure is at no time exerted upon the valve, said valve is only held closed by its own weight, which is constant. With such an arrangement the mechanism is very delicatelyibalanced and the suction action of the releasedfluid will close the valve before the well is discharged. This is due to the fact that the valve, which in this instance closes the lower end of the hollow sleeve, is subject to the full suction action of the outrushing fluid.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a flushing device of the general character above described, in which the fluid head pressure is not exerted to hold the valve on its seat and at the same time to provide a tubular valve providing a constant communication between the sewer con duit and the space in thewell above the maximum fluid level so as to minimize the suction action of the outrushing fluid, upon the valve, thus producing a device which will be positive in its operation.

Another object is to provide a flushing device in which the mechanism is arranged to provide an unobstructed outlet for the flushing fluid when released by the opening of the valve.

Various other objects and advantages will be more fully apaprent from the following description of the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this disclosure and which illustrates a preferred form of embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical flushing device as mounted for operation within the well of a seweragesystem.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.v

section disclosing the i In the drawing, 10 designates a well of any particular desiroi'l design, conunuuleating with a pit 11. located at the head oi a sewer conduit 12 and having an inclined bottom wall in order to insure a perfect drainage to said sewer conduit. The top of the well has a man-hole ring '13 (dosed by an inner man-hole cover 1% and an outer main-hole cover 15 preferably li'ica ted ap proximately level with the street.

Leading into the well, 10 near its top, a water pipe l'fi'provided with a valve 17 which may be conveniently reached from the man-hole and be regulated to permit water to flow into said well at any desired rate.

Mounted between the well lzll) and the pit 11, is a false bottom plate 153. prei'ei 'auly Formed of wood which has been treated with asphalt or other suitable nuiterial to render it water tight, said bottom plate being pret era'bly calked in a metal frame 19 which is securely anchored in the masonry oi the well. This bottom plate 18 forms a support for the entire mechanism of the device and has an opening; 20 therein constituting a discharge port establishing direct communication bet-ween the well and the sewer corduit. An annular tapered valve seat 21 is secured in said opening 20 by screws 22 and cooperating with said seat a tubular valve having a tapered valve ring 94 preterably formed of rubber and adapted to en gage said seat when the valve is closed. The upper sleeve portion 25 of the valve, which extends to a point above the maximum water level, is of a uniform diameter throughout its length and is of substantially the same diameter as the valve ring 24lso that the fluid head will not exert a downward pressure thereon such as would tend to forcefully hold the valve closed.

The top end of the valve sleeve is connected to one end of a walking beam 26 by a link 27 which at its uppe end is pivoted to said walking beam at 28 and at its lovev end is pivoted on a pivot rod 29 d ianietrieally disposed inopposite houses 30 formed on opposite sides of the upper end of the valve sleeve avail. Said link is nniintainezl centrally disposed on said pivet rod 529 spacing sleeves 31 and the -)l )l1 rod is maintained against displacement by plugs 2-39 screwed into the outer ends ot the "bores of said bosses alter the rod in place.

The walking hczun 2G is pivotally supported between its ends on a pivot pin 5-13 carried by an arm 3% of a tubular staiula rd 3-5 said standard being hollow throughout its length and provided near its rower end with an annular flange 36 by which it secured to the upper surface of the bottom plate 18, by suitable bolts 37. This standard. has a depending skirt 38 which vtends through a hole in said bottom p1 e so as to establish communication hetween the ining the short tcricr oi the hollow standard and the pit il behm said plate and near its upper end is provided with an overflow port 50, the location of which determines xhe i'naxinluln fluid level in the well.

A downwardly extending bracket 3!) is secured to the under surface of the False bottom plate 18 by sni'able bolts ll) and an actuating gun or bucket i1 is provided with hinge lugs 4-2 engaging a pivot rod t3 car ried my said bracket, so that said bucket is pivotaily supported within tle pit 11 below the tubular standard 35. Extending: upwardly TlOE'il the horizontal pi'irtion of the floor of the bucket i1 is a bail M which is engaged by a hooked lower end of a rod 45. This rod t5 extends upwardly through the tubular stai'idard 3:3 and is connected to an opposite end of the walking b 23111 at by a universal ciinneetion to be later iilescribed.

The floor oil the bucket =ll from. the location oi the bail. ti: out urdly, tapers upwardly to a point close to the upper ed s of? the side walls of the bucket and a cover plate 46 is secured to said side walls and extends across from one side wall to the other and reurwardly substantially one-half the lergth of the bucket. This cover plate together with the side walls and thetloor plate ot the bucket, defines a drain opening t7, the purposeof said cover plate being to prevent an emptying; of the bucket as soon as it is tripped and to permit the fluid in the bucket to drain therefrom after completion of the flushing operation, so the lnicket inn y be then returneil to no rniul posh tion by the weight of the valve.

A bracket 48 is secured to the st-uiulurd 33 and surrounds the valve sleew so as to guide the valve in its movements from and towards the valve seat.

The universal connection between the rod it" and the walking: beam 26 coinpr'ses a trunnion member 51 having opposed truni'iioiri 52, i he end of the walking beam is bifurcated to provide opposed limbs 53 th w are provided with notches 5% in winch rest the res-rpcctive trunnions i" of said trunnion member 51. An extension member 55 is tightly screwed upon the upy or end ot' the rod iii) and has a serewthroaded shank which extends through an enlarged vertical bore in the triuiniou member and :urmv-thi"aided into a short cylindrical :zttlllljtli' 5G seated in a ooi'icentrie concave 1 5? (see Fig. in the upper surface the trunnii'ni member.

This rmnstruction provides a universal '5U]111-fi1l()ll and a means by which the ctiiective length of the rod -15 may be *uried. such variation bein accomplished by screw idrieail member 06 down- V or upwardly upon the serew threaded shank ot the extension member 55.

in operatiem the well is filled with avater ill from the supply pipe 16. As the valve 23 is seated upon the valve seat 21, the level of the water will gradually rise until it has reached the overflow opening 50 in the tubular stanoard 35. hen the water has reached this point, it will overflow into and down through the standard into the bucket. 421. This bucket will gradually fill and when the weight of water therein is sullic t-to overcome the weight of the valve and its connections, the bucket will be lowered and the valve will be raised to release the water in the well, whereupon said water will rush through the valve opening into pit 11 and into the sewer conduit to etct a flushing of the sewer.

As the valve opening is relatively large, this outrush of the water will be quite rapid and would tend to create a severe suction upon the valve if said valve were of such construction as to entirely close the lower end oi the valve sleeve 25, but With the present tubular valve construction, which is open throughout its length, such suctlon 1ntluonce is minimized by reason of the fact that the interior of the valve is open to the atmosphere in the well above the body of water therein.

it v. be evident that as as the valve opened, the water will enter the bore of the vali'e and seek to attain a level therein coin d with the level of the main body of water i i the well, but in actual practice, cerallect the operation to protain conditions A due an action which dependent directly upin the particular form oi tubular valve employed.

it has been found that when the valve of the dc ice herein disc-l ed, is first fiptltletl, a high hack-pressure is created and that such back-pressure exerts its energy to pro ject the dist ,ed water backwardly and upwardly throiiu i the tubular valve and the tubular tandard until the ener 'v oi": said back-pros- .l.hcreaitcr the we, tus- '.u.o the sewer until the well is icicle-pressure may of COEHHQ be dueobstruction in the sewer, which obwhen would prevent an escape ot the air and the sewer. aheznl oi tuc lli in which event this trapped air suddenly t'o'.it} t :-0tl to build pr sure. unless the obstrur tiou promptly to the force of the water. *ever, as been found that a high hack-pressure developed even in instances in which the sewer not obstructed, and this condition is believed to be due to the normal circulation of air in the sewer system. It is well known that the air in a sewer system flows towards the highest points therein, that is, towards the man-hole w lls included in the system, with considerable velocity, in fact the circulation of air up a in ordinary sewer systems is so PI'UDUHIUJUtl that a constant roaring sound is produced therein. This being so, it will be evident that in the operation of the herein disclosed device, when the valve is opened the outrushiug water must first reverse the direction oi l'low oi the air. In actual practice it llili' sen found that this meeting of the outri ,g water with the incoming air causes a sudden buildino uo ot a hi h back-oressure which will exert its energy in the same manner as above explained. After the en orgy of such back-pressure is spent, the main body 0.. water in the well will discharge into the sewer. During the discharge a very prowith the upper end of said bore open to the atmosphere, the result is merely a lowering or the level oi the water in said valve here instead of a pronounced downward pull on the valve itself. Under these conditions, the level of the water in said here will ordi narily be considerably below that of the main body of water in the well.

From the above it should be evident that the employment of a tubular valve in a sewerilushing; device of this character constitutes a radical departure from and a marked improvement over the constructions heretofore employed in devices of this general character and that the construction herein disclosed provides a device which is vastly more positive in its operation than those of the type disclosed in the prior art patents above referred to.

To further guard against a premature closing of the valve, the bucket 41 is positioned with i ts cover plate d6 directly below the who opening so that the weight of the outrushiug water will strike upon said cover plate and assist in holding the bucket depressed until the well emptied. After the well. is emptied, the water in the bucket ll drain. through the. drain (opening 47, "whereupon the parts will return to their normal positions.

l i hile the form of mechanism herein i1- lustrated and described fully capable of fulfilling the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that I do not wish to limit the invention in this regard, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other terms all coming within the scope of the claims, which follow. 

